The present invention is directed toward a coil spring amusement device and more particularly, toward a coil spring toy with an electronic flashing light which illuminates when the toy moves.
A coil spring toy which may be made from metal, plastic, or the like and is easily compressed and stretched by a person is commonly known as a SLINKY. In order to play with the toy it may be held by a person with an end in each hand. The person may then move his or her hands up and down, for example, so that a wave-like motion of the toy is produced. Another popular way to play with the toy is to place the toy at the top of a set of stairs or an inclined surface and to propel the toy down the stairs or surface so that the toy moves down the stairs or surface by traveling end over end. Thus, the toy appears to walk down the stairs or surface.
In order to make this simple toy even more interesting, several variations of the SLINKY have been created. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,000,991 to Truchsess et al. discloses a SLINKY which includes an attachment that generates light or sound whenever the moving coil changes direction. However, this attachment is rather large and bulky and may interfere with the movement of the toy and particularly with its ability to walk down stairs.
Also, U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,591 to Muzzi discloses a spring toy with a pressure actuated tone generator connected to an audio transducer so that upon activation, musical notes are played. However, this toy cannot function as a SLINKY.
Therefore, a simple, unobtrusive attachment to a SLINKY which increases the level of amusement of the toy and adds versatility to toys of this type is needed.
The present invention is designed to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art discussed above. It is an object of the present invention to provide a coil spring amusement device with electronic flashing lights.
It is another object of the present invention is to provide a coil spring amusement device with a light which is activated when the device moves.
A further object of the present invention to provide a coil spring toy with a light device which is small, light in weight, and has little effect on the operation of the toy.
In accordance with the illustrative embodiments demonstrating features and advantages of the present invention, there is provided a coil spring amusement device which includes a spring with a plurality of connected rings, a right end, a left end, and light devices attached to right and left ends, respectively. Each light device includes a plurality of light emitting diodes (LED); a power source for energizing the diodes; a circuit for selectively electrically connecting the power source with the diodes; and means responsive to the motion of the spring for causing the circuit to connect the power source to the diodes in order to illuminate the LED. The light device also has a clip by which it is secured to the spring within the interior thereof so as not to interfere with the operation of the toy.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof taken in conjunction with the drawings.